


Holiday Break

by Softsliders29



Category: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Only One Bed, Sharing a Bed, Tad bit of angst, fake dating au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:07:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28356732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Softsliders29/pseuds/Softsliders29
Summary: When Newton gets unexpectedly dumped before he was supposed to bring his boyfriend home to his family, Hermann steps in to help him out.
Relationships: Newton Geiszler/Hermann Gottlieb
Comments: 6
Kudos: 24





	Holiday Break

**Author's Note:**

  * For [buckgaybarnes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/buckgaybarnes/gifts).



> This was made for a Newmann secret santa gift exchange!

He couldn’t believe he was doing this. This was the last thing he wanted to do but here he was. He felt bad for the guy, he couldn’t just leave him to flounder on his own. 

Now, how exactly did he get in this predicament? Well, it was early one day when he stepped into the lab to find Newton crying. He almost considered just walking out of the lab and coming back later, he wasn’t the best at dealing with this type of stuff. But he thought better of it. 

Instead, Hermann slowly made his way over to Newton. He didn’t want to spook him or anything, so he barely made any noise until he was right in front of him. 

“Newton, are you okay?” He asked, his voice barely a whisper. Newton turned his head to look at Hermann, a bit caught off guard. He still had tears in his eyes and Hermann’s heart broke a little. 

“Oh, uh, yeah. It’s nothing.” He shrugs, obviously trying to keep his crying down to a minimum. He doesn’t want to be a bother to Hermann. 

“It’s obviously not nothing. Are you hurt?” Hermann asks, becoming more concerned. 

“Only emotionally.” Newt can barely manage a joking tone as he says the words, more tears forming. Hermann is slowly starting to understand. He nods. 

“Well, if you don’t want to talk about it then I understand. But I am here for you.” He gives Newt’s shoulder a pat and goes to his side of the lab. 

The lab goes back to it’s usual silence, the occasional profanity from Newton as he starts dissecting things. Hermann thinks that Newt has pretty much gotten through whatever was bothering him before and forgets about the whole ordeal. 

Until the end of the work day. Newton walked over to Hermann’s side of the lab while Hermann was packing his things away. Hermann had barely noticed the other standing there, he was so concentrated. 

“Can I ask you a favor?” He starts off. Hermann looks over and nods, going back to his packing. “So, before, I was having my little breakdown because…” There’s a pause and Hermann looks back at him. Newton is looking down at his feet, almost like he’s debating whether he should say it or not. “Because my boyfriend broke up with me.” He finally says. And it clicks in Hermann’s head. Ah, that makes sense. But there must be more, Hermann thinks. That isn’t really anything he can help him with. “But I promised my family I’d bring someone home. And I don’t want to show up empty handed, y’know. I’d feel like an idiot.” 

Was he asking Hermann what he thought he was asking? No, that couldn’t be. Could it? 

“Oh Newton, I don’t know…” Hermann was really wrestling with the idea in his head. He wanted to help but at the same time he didn’t know if he could handle it. It would just be…. too real. 

“Yeah, yeah. It’s a lot to ask, sorry.” Newton said. Hermann sighed. 

“I’ll… I’ll do it.” He said. He didn’t want Newton to be embarrassed. It wasn’t his fault he got broken up with. 

“Really, cause you don’t have to. I’ll just tell them the truth.” Newton said, eyes lighting up. 

“No, it’s fine. I really wasn’t planning on going anywhere for the holidays anyway.” Hermann assured. 

“Thanks dude, you’re a lifesaver.” Newton hugged him, causing Hermann’s to stop breathing for a second. 

After that incident, Hermann went home and started over thinking about the whole thing. He had heard about Newton’s uncle and father but he still wanted to make a good impression. And what about their backstory? How would that work? 

Maybe if he just slept on it, he could figure it out in the morning. Of course, that would help. A good night's rest. Except he could not fall asleep that night. 

The next morning he went into the lab with very little sleep but with a purpose. He had to get this all sorted. 

“So, when are we leaving?” Was his first question. Newton, who was chugging coffee to get ready for the day, looked up at the other a little confused. 

“Oh, to my folks? Next Friday. Is that enough time for you?” He asked, genuine concern in his voice. Hermann just nodded. 

“Sounds good. What have you told your family about your boyfriend?” He needed to make sure he’d even pass as him. 

“Not much. They just knew I had one. I didn’t even tell them his name.” Newton shrugged. 

“Thank goodness.” Hermann let out a sigh of relief. At least that was out of the way. 

“You don’t really have to do anything. Just get free food and talk a bit. But you’ll have to be nice so it may not be that easy.” He laughed at the other. 

Hermann rolled his eyes. “I can be quite pleasant. Some people just drive me up the wall.” He eyed Newton as he said it. 

It was Newton’s turn to roll his eyes. There bickering just went on through the day and through the next few days until it was time to head to Newton’s family. 

They were driving there, which wasn’t a horrible thing. It was only a six hour drive. And Hermann was glad that they had this time to prepare for the questions that Newton’s family was sure to ask. 

“So, I think we should keep it pretty much the same as real life. I mean, they know about you already.” Newton shrugged. Something about that made Hermann’s heart clench. Newton talked more about him than his long term boyfriend? But he couldn’t dwell on that too much. 

“Well how did we make the transition from lab partners to life partners?” Hermann asked. Newton was quiet for a moment, thinking it over. 

“Late one night we were still at the lab, we were the last ones out, and we just started talking about us. And I kissed you. And the rest was history.” Newton shrugged. 

“You kissed me? I think I’d kiss you first.” Hermann argued. He didn’t know why he was offended by the idea of Newton kissing him first. Probably because he had wanted to do it countless nights. But he wasn’t going to bring that up. 

“Oh really? And what makes you think that?” Newton asked with a laugh. 

“I don’t know, I just think it’s more fitting.” Hermann tried to downplay his real thoughts, hoping they could quickly settle on this and move on. 

“Fine. You kissed me and the rest was history.” Newton rolled his eyes with a smile. 

“Okay, how long have we been dating?” Hermann asked. 

“Well, I told them seven months.” Newton said. This made Hermann turn and look at him completely. 

“Newton, I’m so sorry.” Hermann said. He couldn’t imagine dating someone for seven months and suddenly breaking up. It hurt his heart even more for Newton. 

Newton shrugged it off. “It’s fine man, I’m getting over it.” 

There was silence in the car after that. But Hermann knew they still had some things to resolve. 

“What about… displays of affection?” Hermann asked. This was something he’d been dreading. 

“If you wanted to kiss me you could’ve just asked.” Newton laughed. It made Hermann’s breath hitch until he realized he was joking. 

“I do not. I just want to make sure we convince your family.” Hermann tried to act nonchalant about it. 

“Just the normal amount is good. I don’t know, whatever feels natural. Don’t try to force it though.” Newton shrugged. “When you know, you know.” 

Hermann just nodded. The rest of the trip went by in mostly silence, Newton’s music blaring through the speakers. But it didn’t bother Hermann as much. He had other things on his mind. 

They arrived at Newton’s house a little early. His uncle greeted them in the driveway and offered to take some of their bags, but Newton insisted that they do it themselves. 

Newton’s uncle, Illia, Hermann had learned, showed them around the house. It wasn’t a huge home but it was comfortable. 

Newton’s dad was apparently out of the house at the moment but would be back soon. And then they’d have dinner. Illia left them in the guest room to get settled in. 

The guest room, Hermann had noticed immediately, only had one bed. He made a mental note to offer to sleep on the floor that night. He didn’t know if he could get through a night in bed with Newton. 

“It’s a really lovely home, Newton.” Hermann offered. Newton just smiled at that, putting his clothes into the drawer in the room. 

There was more silence as Hermann tried to figure out what he should be doing. He settled on folding his clothes. 

He didn’t know how to feel at the moment. He was overwhelmed, and really nervous. But he wanted to make a good impression. Not that it mattered, they weren’t really dating, he had to keep that in mind. He knew if he didn’t, he’d get carried away, and he didn’t want that. It’d make the lab too awkward. 

Newton’s father got home a few hours after. It was only early morning when Hermann and Newton had arrived, so when Newton’s dad got in, it was a few hours before dinner was scheduled. But Newton wanted to spend time with his dad, so they both made their way into the living room. 

When they sat down, Newton put his hand on Hermann’s thigh. Hermann had to do everything in his power to keep his cool. But he was able to act natural. 

Newton and his father talked about the latest at the lab, his uncle chiming in as well, while Hermann just sat there. He almost thought they weren’t going to ask about him, which was fine by him, but eventually the conversation did turn to him. 

“So, Hermann, we’ve heard quite a bit about you, just didn’t put two and two together. Didn’t think you’d be the boyfriend.” Newton’s father said. 

“Yes, well, our work and home life are quite different stories.” Hermann said. Newton looked at him, giving him an eyebrow raise. But Hermann just kept going with it. 

“I bet. But Newton adores you. I could tell by the way he talks about you.” His uncle chimed in. This caught Hermann by surprise but he didn’t say anything about it. 

“Oh, that’s flattering.” Hermann said, a bit quiet. He looked over at Newton, he was blushing. 

“I just love the guy.” Newton said, hoping to stop this. 

“You’ve made that pretty obvious. Kinda surprised I didn’t figure it out.” His uncle said. Hermann really had to ask Newt about it later. 

“When’s dinner?” Newton asked suddenly. 

They didn’t talk anymore about Hermann and Newt’s relationship much to Newton’s relief. His dad started making dinner while Newton and his uncle continued shop talk. Hermann was just left blushing and running the conversation on a loop in his head. 

When dinner time came, they all sat at the table, Hermann and Newton sitting right next to each other. It was nice, almost making Hermann forget about the past conversation. He found that Newton’s uncle was a very smart man, enthralled in his discussions about science. 

But before he knew it, dinner was done. Now it was on to the part of the night he was dreading. Sleeping. 

They said goodnight to Newton’s dad and uncle and went to the guest bedroom. Hermann was almost too nervous to get into his night clothes, almost just sleeping in his day clothes. But he knew the floor was already going to be uncomfortable enough. 

When he went to lay down, Newton looked at him confused. 

“Come on man, you can sleep up here.” Newton offered. Hermann shook his head. 

“No, I don’t think so.” Hermann said. 

“Dude, it can’t be good for your leg, and it’s just sleeping. I’ll even put a pillow in between us. But you aren’t sleeping down there.” He knew Newton wasn’t going to give up, so Hermann gave in, moving to lay down on the bed. He kept as much space between them as he could. 

He figured this was as good a time as any to ask Newt about what his uncle said earlier. 

“You know, I figured you’d told your family about me before, but I thought it’d be in a negative light.” Hermann observed as casually as he could. 

“Nah man, why would I do that?” Newton asked, genuinely confused. 

“I don’t know. We don’t really get along well. We’re always bickering.” Hermann shrugged. 

“Well, yeah, but it’s all in good fun.” He paused for a moment. “Do you not like me?” Newton asked. 

“No, I mean yeah, I like you. I just didn’t know….” He trailed off at the end. 

“Oh, okay.” Newton said. There was another pause. 

“What do you tell them about me?” He asked, he couldn’t help but be curious. 

“How smart you are, and how good of a lab partner you are.” Newton shrugged. Hermann was touched, but didn’t get the chance to say it. “Do you tell your family about me?” 

“Absolutely not.” Hermann said, causing Newton’s face to fall. He quickly continued. “But I don’t tell my family about most things. If I told them about you, I’d tell them about how resourceful you are and how brilliant you are. And your cool tattoos and just how overall…” 

Before Hermann could finish, Newton’s lips were on his. He was shocked and before he could react they were gone. 

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I don’t know what came over me but you were just being really nice and I thought it was…” Hermann shut him up by kissing him back. 

After a few moments they pulled apart. 

“You know, what I said before, it’s true. I really do love you.” Newton confessed. 

“I love you too.” Hermann returned. 

Maybe the visit wouldn’t be too bad after all.


End file.
